Despite wet conditions, May rainfall slightly below average

PALATKA, Fla., June 14, 2022 — Below average rainfall in May leads to parts of the St. Johns River Water Management District’s southern region (Brevard, Indian River, Osceola and Okeechobee) abnormally dry, as reported in the U.S. Drought Monitor. While some areas of the central region reported more than 7 inches of rain last month, Brevard County averaged only 1.5 inches.

A map illustrates rainfall conditions in April across the St. Johns River Water Management District.

A full report outlining May’s hydrologic conditions was presented at the District’s Governing Board meeting Tuesday. Highlights include:

Rainfall

• Districtwide, May rainfall averaged 3.39 inches, which is 0.07 inches below the average for the month.
• Lake County had the most rainfall, with a countywide average of 5.1 inches.
• Brevard County, which is still abnormally dry, received only 1.5 inches.
• Districtwide, the cumulative rainfall total for the past 12 months is 54.43 inches, which is 3.42 inches above the long-term average.

Groundwater 

• Upper Floridan aquifer conditions (groundwater levels) at the end of May were mostly in the normal range across the District.
• Groundwater levels are at the 77th percentile Districtwide. This means that since 1980, aquifer levels have been higher than they currently are about 23 percent of the time.

Spring flows

• The mean monthly flow at Silver Springs decreased to 662 cubic feet per second (cfs), or 428 mgd, which is a 22 cfs decrease from April’s mean, but still in the normal range for this time of year.
• At the Blue Spring station in Volusia County, the mean monthly flow was 159 cfs, or 103 mgd.
• At Rock Springs, the monthly mean flow decreased 2 cfs to 58 cfs (38 mgd), which is in the normal range for May.
• Mean monthly flow at Wekiwa Springs increased to 66 cfs (43 mgd), which is in the normal range for the time of year.

To learn more about rainfall totals and other hydrologic data collected, visit sjrwmd.com.

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